


"Even you?" You asked

by Polyhexian



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, POV Third Person, This is set riiiight before brainstorm goes time travelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:34:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29266593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Polyhexian/pseuds/Polyhexian
Summary: Do you still remember when we were little?We were playing in the park,and you asked mewhat happens when you die.I said, "You forget everything.Everything."“Even you?” you asked."Yes, even me."
Relationships: Brainstorm & Chromedome (Transformers)
Kudos: 25





	"Even you?" You asked

Chromedome looked up when he heard a knock at his habsuite door and his spark swelled, hoping it was Rewind. 

"Come in!" he called. He felt his shoulders sink and his visor dim when the door slid open and it was Brainstorm instead. "Oh. It's you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, disappointed to see me as always," Brainstorm handwaved, keying the door shut behind him as he crossed the room to plop down on the now unused second berth, folding his hands over his briefcase in his lap. "How are you doing?"

"Bad," Chromedome answered dryly, "You could have guessed that."

"I could."

"Why even ask then?"

"I dunno," Brainstorm shrugged, "Sometimes you like to lie instead."

Chromedome grimaced behind his blast mask. "Thanks. What do you want?"

"Do I have to want something?" Brainstorm inquired, "I can't just want to check up on my best friend?"

"Only friend," Chromedome corrected, "And you always want something."

"I guess that's true," Brainstorm admitted, "But I just wanted to talk."

Chromedome hesitated. "About what? Rewind?"

"Kind of," Brainstorm admitted.

Chromedome sighed. "Storm… I know you've never liked him. I get it. It's fine. You don't have to. But I really- I don't want to argue about him right now, he's going through a lot, and-"

"No, no, not like that," Brainstorm assured him, "I actually agree with you. He's been through a lot, but I think he will come around. I think it's good of you to give him space to work through it, I know it's really hard for you."

Chromedome hesitated. "Oh. Thank you."

"And I don't hate him," Brainstorm added, "I never hated him."

"You could have fooled me," Chromedome huffed, "You pick every opportunity to argue with him. You tried very hard to dissuade me from seeing him in the beginning."

"Banter," Brainstorm dismissed, "And you haven't recontextualized that yet?"

"What do you mean?"

"CD. I'd already watched you lose three conjunxes," Brainstorm explained, "I really didn't want to see it again."

Chromedome froze, ice in his lines. "Oh. Right."

Brainstorm sighed, glancing away. "Mach, Pivot, Scattergun… they were my friends, too, you know. You left me to mourn them alone."

Chromedome felt his tanks flip in guilt. "I know. I'm sorry."

"I know you are," Brainstorm told him, "I'm not mad at you. I don't blame you. We all have coping mechanisms. None of them are good."

Chromedome wasn't sure what to say. Something in him ached but he couldn't place what and it felt like everything. He wished he knew the words to soothe the hurt within himself and within his oldest, closest friend, but he didn't. 

"I've built a time machine," Brainstorm said, after some time of silence.

"...I'm sorry," Chromedome said slowly, "Excuse me?"

"A time machine," Brainstorm repeated, as if it were simple, "Right here. That's the big secret." He gave his briefcase a thump with one hand. Chromedome stared at him 

"You're fucking with me," he said.

"Nah," Brainstorm handwaved, "I've been working on it for the last couple centuries, actually. Pretty much the only thing I've really been doing, actually."

"A t- time travel isn't _possible,_ " Chromedome balked, "You can't be-"

"Come on, come on, keep up, CD, you're smart. It's a time machine," Brainstorm rolled his optics, "You wouldn't believe the trouble I've had to go through to make it work, either. Had to join the Decepticons to get all the materials I needed."

"You did _what?!"_ Chromedome leaned back, feeling his spark pulse begin to race in panic, " _Bullshit,_ you did n-"

Brainstorm unhooked his blast mask and slid the hidden tab on the side inward, revealing the Deceptibrand within. He held it out toward Chromedome to show him.

Chromedome stared, visor bright and wide. "Oh, God, Storm," he breathed, "What have you done?"

Brainstorm replaced his blast mask over his face casually. "I told you. I built a time machine."

" _Why?!"_

"Why would anyone?" Brainstorm asked, as if it was obvious, "To save someone who died." He folded his hands back down across the briefcase. "But I've since changed my mind. There's something more important I have to do."

Chromedome stared at him, telling him all of this so casually, as if it hardly mattered at all. "What?"

"I'm going to stop the war," Brainstorm answered, "I'm going to save everyone."

Chromedome felt all the air go out of his body. He felt disconnected, like he was floating in zero-g. "The whole war?" he asked.

"Yeah, the whole thing. I've actually got a kind of time map made up, so I've got a couple of different tries in case my first few ideas don't really pan out. That's the plan, though, go back and tweak a few really important scenes, change history, stop the war from happening. Save a couple billion lives. Good stuff, I think."

"I- yeah, I mean- that's- are you serious?" Chromedome asked again, feeling crushed as he tried to process so much information at once.

"You see, there's only one problem, though."

"Only one?"

"Only one," Brainstorm repeated, "I've never told you this, but I lied about being forged."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I'm an MTO, actually. Early, mid war, I guess?" 

"You- wh-" Chromedome shot up, "But if you stop the war, then you-!"

"Yeah, I won't have existed in the first place," Brainstorm nodded, "You see my dilemma."

"Storm," Chromedome said, grabbing one of his hands from his briefcase to clutch in his own, "You _can't._ "

Brainstorm visibly softened, looking relieved. "Wow. You can't imagine how much it means to hear you say that."

"Say what?"

"That you wouldn't want me to," Brainstorm told him, squeezing his hand back, "That you'd miss me."

"You didn't think I'd miss you?" Chromedome asked, hurt.

"Not really," Brainstorm admitted, "I kind of thought you might agree with me that it was worth it for the greater good."

"Fuck the greater good!" Chromedome gasped, "Brainstorm, I-" 

Brainstorm drew a gun from his subspace and neatly shot Chromedome in the head. 

He yanked his hands away and reeled back, clutching at his forehead with a cry of pain. Brainstorm returned the weapon to where he had drawn it from.

"Don't worry," he assured him, "It's that binary gun you brought me. I figured out what it did."

"Wh-"

"It's kind of ironic, actually," Brainstorm continued, "It's memory stuff. It can add memories or thoughts, you know, like _Inception,_ or it can erase them. Neat technology. It's kind of funny that I got it from you."

Chromedome fell onto his side, still clutching his head as pain bloomed through his circuits. "Why- why would you _shoot_ me with it?!"

"Because you can't remember this," Brainstorm explained coolly, "This was just for me. I just needed to know." He fished around his subspace and withdrew a circuit dampener and held it out to his friend. "Here. This will help with the pain."

Chromedome didn't take it from him and instead curled up, drawing his legs toward him as he tried to fight the bizarre feeling taking over his brain. "I don't understand- why- _Storm-_ "

"I know," Brainstorm replied, setting the dampener down beside him, "But you don't have to. It won't matter for long." He stood up, holding his briefcase at his side. "Like I said. I just really wanted to know. And now I know. I feel better. I can go now."

"Go _where?!"_

"Wherever you go when you don't exist, I guess," he answered, "Less metaphorically, to Swerve's."

"Storm- Storm, _stop,_ you can't-"

Brainstorm crossed to the other side of the room, hand on the doorknob, before he looked back at his friend, who seemed to be losing a fight with gravity as he struggled with his failing memories. "That's just it, CD. I can. I can do whatever the hell I want."

"Please," Chromedome pleaded, but he wasn't entirely sure what he was asking.

"I just wanted to say one last thing," Brainstorm told him, opening the door.

"What?" Chromedome asked, visor flickering.

"Goodbye, Chromedome." 

Chromedome's head thunked against the berth, optics offline as he began a hard reboot. Brainstorm regarded him only a moment more, before he sighed, took a deep breath, and shut the door behind him.


End file.
